If hydrogen becomes a viable alternative to fossil fuels, Iowa may be in a position to benefit.
Ryan Clark, associate state geologist with the Iowa Geological Survey, said recent research has shown there are certain types of rocks that naturally generate hydrogen gas. “Once the rock type was sort of identified, then people started looking around the world. Well, where are these rock types? And it turns out Iowa has quite a large volume of these rock types that could generate hydrogen,” Clark said. “And to add onto that, there are some rocks that are kind of overlying those that are generating hydrogen that could potentially trap, seal and accumulate a pool of hydrogen.”
About half a dozen companies have contacted the Iowa Geological Survey for information about what may be underground. “Once they have that, then they start building their models and kind of figuring out their next steps,” Clark said. “One of their next steps is doing seismic surveys, so essentially x-raying the earth from the surface. Not drilling a hole or anything.” That can make the exploration phase quite expensive…